Driving through Birmingham has always been tricky but a key route in the city centre has suddenly changed - causing potential chaos for many motorists and cab drivers.

It may only be 150-yards long, but the one-way system on one stretch of road in the city centre has been switched, with traffic now heading in the opposite direction.

The council has permanently reversed the flow on upper Hill Street as well as blocking the end off where it meets New Street.

The move, which has been made to facilitate the Midland Metro extension across the top end of New Street close to where it meets higher Hill Street, will bring Christmas chaos according to a leading black cab taxi boss.

Artist's impression of how the top of Hill Street will look once work has been completed on the Midland Metro extension across the top of New Street

Black cabs make U-turns to currently park on both sides of Navigation Street near to the exit from New Street Station – but they can now only use two routes out of the area instead of three

Other traffic on Navigation Street after using the Mailbox main entrance, Grand Central Car Park or Town Hall Car Parks also been reduced to two means of ‘escape’.

TOA Taxis’ chairman Manawar Hussain fears that one traffic incident will bring the city to a halt.

Main arrows show the direction of travel once you come off the A38 via Swallow Street or Brunel Street. There are only two ways out of the area now - back on to the A38 in front of the New Alexandra Theatre on the Suffolk Street Queensway or via lower Hill Street then Station Street (Image: Internet unknown)

“Birmingham needs to have a better traffic management system in place to make traffic flow freely because the city council is making life difficult for everyone and that is going to affect the economy,” he said.

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What used to happen?

Leave The Mailbox main car park entrance now and you will only have two ways to go now that the one-way system on upper Hill Street has been reversed (Image: Graham Young)

Before Monday, October 9, 2017, vehicles using Navigation Street could turn left or right into upper Hill Street depending on whether they were (a) arriving from The Mailbox , Town Hall Car Park or Brunel Street direction, or if they had (b) used the drop off tunnel for New Street Station, accessed off lower Hill Street.

Motorists could also drive up lower Hill Street and then go straight across Navigation Street into the upper part of Hill Street ready to head towards Birmingham Town Hall , from where they could join the southbound A38 Queensway system just south of Paradise.

What happens now?

From Navigation Street, they can either turn down Hill Street (past the main Grand Central car park entrance for John Lewis ) before turning left into Station Street as it heads towards Pershore Street.

Or they can leave Navigation Street to join a single file slip road to join Suffolk Street Queensway before it goes past the front of the New Alexandra Theatre towards Holloway Circus and Smallbrook Queensway.

What does TOA think about city traffic?

“And it often starts one project, like Paradise, before they’ve finished another, like New Street Station.

“Reversing the one way system on Hill Street reduces options and it has the potential to cause chaos.”

Mr Hussain added: “We’ve highlighted issues with the city council yet the Midland Metro tram people said they weren’t aware of our concerns.

“As I understand it, it is going to take two years to extend the Metro from Pinfold Street to the ICC on Broad Street and four years in total reach Five Ways.

“That is going to affect all of the nightlife on Broad Street and, if you can’t get to people to take them home on Friday and Saturday nights, then businesses will suffer.

War veterans get ready to leave for Arnhem in 2012, courtesy of TOA Taxis (Image: Iain Findlay)

“We are powerless to do anything, but we try our best.

“All we can do is to try to highlight the issues so that people will listen.

“I was stuck in traffic this week and although the meter said £9 I felt so sorry for the woman passenger I said to her: ‘Just call it £7’.

“Not being able to drive freely makes you feel bad, especially when you have regular customers.”

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: “The current arrangements with Hill Street and Brunel Street will remain in place on a permanent basis once the Metro extension is completed.”

Was it always like this?

Last night saloon: a bus and car emerge from the Paradise Queensway tunnel underneath the Central Library at midnight on Friday, November 13, 2015 - hours before the road was closed for good (Image: Graham Young)

Before work on the £500 million redevelopment of Paradise began two years ago, drivers going up upper Hill Street could previously turn left to head south down the A38, go up to Broad Street or turn right towards the Jewellery Quarter.

The reversal of the one-way system on upper Hill Street now means that all three wider area options have now been shut down.

And, for vehicles on Navigation Street, there are only two ways out of the immediate area, not three.

This means that the total number of ‘escape’ routes from Navigation Street has gone down from five to two in just two years.